Personal copy; not for onward transmission
for News in Brief,
“AFRICA CALLING”
I believe the forthcoming meeting in
Africa is potentially of very great impor-
tance…
The second African bizonal meeting will
take place in Kinshasa, capital city for the
Democratic Republic of Congo from 19th
till 26th February 2005 at the Kimbanguiste
Centre. Rida Liobo Loote, Vice chair of
the Organising Committee writes…
“During that meeting we will have many
Subud members both from African coun-
tries and from other countries around the
world. The official delegates (WSC mem-
bers, Kejiwaan counsellors and African
national chairs) will be totally taken care
of by the WSC.
“Every other member who would like to
attend the meeting has to pay, beside his
air ticket, $US600 for accommodation and
food (3 meals per day) at the Kimban-
guiste Centre.
“We are doing our best to help you have a
wonderful time in the DRC. So, let us
know your specific preoccupations and
please confirm your participation in case
you intend to attend the meeting.”
No doubt many others of you who have
grown in up in Western countries will have
had the same experience as me. That is we
have grown up with enough to eat, enough
money, all the education we wish to ac-
quire. Then you go to a developing coun-
try and you realise that all the things you
always took for granted are of enormous
value.
When you experience the huge crying
need in a developing country, you realise
that even such a simple taken for granted
subscriptions to Subud Voice
and links to many other Subud sites:
www.subudvoice.net
SEPTEMBER
2004
thing as the ability to speak English has
the value of gold in this other context.
We in the West have such an enormous
wealth of money, knowledge and expertise
to contribute and in return our humanity is
enriched and expanded. We are enabled to
feel useful.
The people of developing countries have
as much to give us, as we have to give
them. Often they are still in contact with
wellsprings of human experience - family,
community, religious faith – that have
dried up in the West.
Sure, they need what we have - wealth,
education, medical services – but we also
need what they have.
Our need is to become spiritually more
alive, more compassionate, to find a way
out of our Western neuroses, greed and
alienation. To find a way of dealing with
all our “human” problems of angry, suici-
dal young people, broken family life, loss
of contact with the supernatural.
In Africa they still have those resources in
abundance! We can share. We can learn
from each other.
Of course we do not want to go to Africa
with the attitude that we are the mighty
givers, we are the mighty solvers of prob-
lems. Let us go in humility. We have as
much to gain from them as they from us.
Here is the basis for a mutually enriching
exchange.
Perhaps in this Africa meeting we can do
something great – something that reaches
out from Subud to make a difference in the
wider world.
“Come
see us in
Africa.
We want
to meet
you.”
Although it is, of course, nobody's fault,
and of course, we are all doing the best we
can, but nevertheless it is sometimes de-
pressing, sometimes comical, when we
observe most of our Subud meetings,
where often the most useful thing we are
able to do is make a decision about where
the next meeting should be held.
Shouldn’t we be doing better than this?
Haven’t we been given the gift of God to
use for the benefit of humanity? Shouldn’t
we be out there solving the problems of
the world rather than still fiddling around
with our own navels?
I really believe that this meeting in Africa
offers a great opportunity not only to do
something for Subud in Africa but to do
something for the whole tormented “dark
continent”. We can do it. We have the
power of God with us.
In future years this meeting could be
looked back upon as the very moment
when the renaissance of Africa began. It
could be the pivot on which the future of
Africa turned.
There is no reason this cannot happen. We
can make it so.
For more information about the meeting
contact: RIDA LIOBO LOOTE, Vice
Chair / Organizing Committee: 26, avenue
Poko , Quartier Kauka, Kinshasa /
Kalamu, République Démocratique du
Congo: Mobile 00243. 98129235
Or contact Viktor Boehm at
viktorboehm@t-online.de
Harris Smart, Editor Subud Voice
SUBUD VOICE - September 2004 1

APPOINTING INTERNATIONAL
HELPERS AT SUBUD WORLD
CONGRESS
Any helper who feels willing and able to
take up the responsibilities of I.H. may be
nominated for this role. The role involves
much travel and commitment. I.H.s in the
present dewan spend around 12 weeks per
year away from home. Serious considera-
tion of the impact on family, work and
health are necessary.
Testing is first required in the members’
countries with the Group or National
Dewan.
”Is it right for ‘A’s’ name to go forward
for testing for the role of I.H.
at World Congress”
If positive the name is passed to the K.C.s
and from there to the I.H.s. The
prospective I.H. must attend the World
Congress.
International Helper Dewan
DESIGN A LOGO FOR WORLD
CONGRESS 2005
The World Congress 2005 team is inviting
submissions for a logo.
This logo will be used on the official con-
gress web-site, stationery, banners, and
merchandising.
Ideas should be simple and graphic
(preferable vector-based), and designers
should be willing to donate it free of all
rights.
This will be the twelfth Subud World Con-
gress, and will take place in Innsbruck, in
the Austrian Alps, from July 21st to Au-
gust 4th, 2005.
Please remember that if you chose to in-
clude the Subud symbol in your design
(recommendable), it must follow the estab-
lished guidelines, i.e.: No distortion of the
image; no transformation (for example,
turning it into a sun); it should be at the
top of the image; preferable colours: blue,
gold, white, black, silver, or yellow.
In this case we have also decided that the
(R) does not have to appear immediately
below the Subud symbol - it will be added
in an appropriate placing later.
As the web-site has to be launched by
early September, submissions need to be
made by August 20th to Anwar Ziesel at
anwarziesel@gmx.at .
2 SUBUD VOICE - September 2004
NEWS IN BRIEF
The jury choosing the
logo will be headed
by Anwar (a graphic
designer), Maya
Bernardes merchan-
dising expert) and
Laurencio Young
(ISC chairman). An
acknowledgement of
the designer with
article will appear in
various Subud publi-
cations. Look forward
to your designs!
Anwar Ziesel,
Congress Organizing
Team 2005
Editor’s Note: We
notice that the dead-
line will have expired
by the time you read
this, but perhaps it
may have been ex-
tended, so it may still
be worth contacting
Anwar.
Dressing up in Colombia.
COLOMBIA
YOUTH GATHERING “We would advise anyone planning to visit
Sri Lanka for the Ibu Rahayu visit and
Mauricio Vela, Colombian Youth Co- House Opening to contact us as soon as
ordinator, writes that the Youth Gathering possible for reservations, as it will be the
in Colombia was “full of wonders” and… beginning of the tourist season. Prices
range from $80 USD in five star hotels to
“ I tried to introduce into this gathering $17 USD for budget type hotels in the City
very new and fresh activities which I of Colombo.”
would like to propose them for the world
congress. For example activities like the For further information and registration
karaoke night or the costume party. Maybe please contact: V. Sinnadorai, National
it could be a good way to get the young- Chair: Email Kamalam@sltnet.lk or
sters motivated. At the end of the gather- Robert Goonetilleke, Kejiwaan Councillor:
ing everybody was happy to be there and I Email robertgoonetilleke@yahoo.com
feel that events like this, are events that
help the Subud Youth to GROW ”. WORLD CONGRESS WEB SITE
IBU IN INDIA AND SRI LANKA There is now a World Congress 2005 web-
site: http://www.worldcongress2005.com
This September Ibu Rahayu will travel to Following the WSC meeting in Rungan
Bangalore, India from the 11th to the 14th Sari, SICA - now called The Creative
and then to Colombo, Sri Lanka, from the Team - has agreed to send a questionnaire
14th to the 20th, when she will inaugurate with letter to all the Subud members in the
the new Subud Centre. For registration world asking for their vision of the next
form contact: world congress 2005 in Innsbruck.
Mr.Balasubramanaim, ( balu) 90, 4th Main, Members can fill in the form either by
Amarjyothi layout, Bangalore 560032, email (creativeteam@subud.net), fax or
India. Phone: 0091-80-23436354 / filling it online directly on http://
23331904. E-mail: padmalay@vsnl.com. www.worldcongress2005.com
Joe Rosario, 290/7, Venketaramiah Lay Researcher Needed: In order to clearly
out, IInd cross Banaswadi, Bangalore appreciate the ideas and visions that the
560043, India. Phone: 0091-80-25450687 / creativity questionnaire will generate,
25424303. E-mail: mithra95@eth.net an independent researcher is needed to
correlate the replies. Contact
The Sri Lankan Organisers write… creativeteam@subud.net.
 THE ENTERPRISE EXPERIMENT
By Harris Smart from a conversation It has struck me
with Sachlan Fraval more and more
lately that as
Attentive readers of Subud publications Subud members
over the last year or so will have noticed a the most powerful
number of references to “The Experi- impulse for us is
ment” an approach to enterprise being the altruistic one,
promoted by Sachlan Fraval from Aus- not the self-
tralia. interested one. It is
through altruism
First in Australia, and then in other parts that we access
of the world, Sachlan has spoken at meet- power, prosperity
ings and congresses about this new ap- and success, not
proach. However, what has been lacking only for ourselves
in print so far has been a clear and com- but also for others
prehensive description of exactly what - eventually we
Sachlan has been talking about. What is hope for the whole
the “experiment”? How did Sachlan ar- world, for “all of
rive at it? What results does it produce? mankind”.

I recently interviewed Sachlan in order to Of course once you

get an overview of his ideas. Certainly to
many people it seems his concept is the
most inspiring, encouraging, democratic
and effective restatement of the enterprise
ideal to come along for quite some time.
Amongst other things it seems to offer a
fresh way of seeing the relationship be-
tween our spiritual and material lives.
Most important of all, it is not just theory
but has been producing results in individ-
ual lives and in providing substantial fi-
nancial assistance to the Subud organisa-
tion and projects…
HS: How did it all start?
SF: The starting point was at the Subud
Australia Congress in January 2003.
As Irena Garrett was being tested in as the
new chair of Subud Australia, I had an
unexpected and overwhelming latihan ex-
perience comparable to only one other
experience in my life when I was tested by
Bapak.
I did not understand what the experience
meant, but it felt it had something to do
with enterprises, so I went up to Irena and
told her that I wanted to help in this way.
I felt it was not right for me to carry the
title of “SES Chair” and that Irena should
carry that official title, but I urged her to
come to me as she identified the needs in
Subud Australia, especially financial
needs, and I would endeavour to help her.
HS: I think that one thing that is very
important here is that the whole thing
began with an altruistic impulse – the
wish to help Irena and Subud Australia.
It did not begin with a greedy selfish
impulse – what can I get out of this.
have the altruistic
impulse then you
have to make it
happen in a practi-
cal way, but it
seems to me the
strongest things
now begin with an altruistic impulse. Of
course, after that, we are also entitled to
look after our legitimate needs, our live-
lihood and so on.
I have seen this recently in my own life.
If we start off thinking what can I do for
Subud? What can I do for this person?
What can I do for humanity? then im-
mense powers are unleashed.
SF: I think this is true.
Soon after returning from that Congress,
there began a period in which I was
awoken every night and underwent a series
of intense experiences. For the first 30
days this took the form of feeling that I
was being taken around a racetrack at the
end of which was a trophy.
I would race around the track and try to
pick up the trophy but I could never do it.
As time went on I enlisted the aid of more
and more technology – a bike, then a mo-
torbike, then a car – but was still unsuc-
cessful in collecting the trophy.
Then at the end of the 30 days I found my-
self sitting in the stands observing the
racetrack. A voice said to me, “You can go
and pick it up now.” I said, “Is it as easy as
that?” And then I went and collected the
trophy.
I interpreted these experiences to mean
that for all of my life in Subud – more than
30 years – I had been trying to fulfil the
enterprise ideal by my own efforts, and I
Sachlan Fraval.
had not been successful. Now I realised
that it was necessary to put God first, to
accomplish enterprise through a kind of
surrender.
Only last week I was in Kalimantan at the
WSC meeting in Rungan Sari, and in one
of her talks Ibu Rahayu said there are no
enterprises in the kejiwaan. We keep ask-
ing her about enterprises and that is not her
role.
I saw the image of a mirror as a metaphor
for the relationship between the kejiwaan
and enterprise.
It’s like this. Before we come to Subud,
most of us search desperately for God, and
then we come to Subud and we are opened
and it all happens easily and simply with-
out any effort on our part.
I saw how there was an analogy with en-
terprise. I’d been trying all this time to
make things happen by my own efforts,
whereas I now saw that what was neces-
sary was to hand the whole thing over to
God, to put God in front.
Another important point is that the word
“enterprise” is too limiting. It immediately
makes you think of ‘business’ whereas
what I’m talking about is much broader
and can be applied to many different kinds
of activities, large and small.
HS: This sounds fine in theory, but what
do you actually do?
Continued on page 4.

SUBUD VOICE - September 2004 3

Continued from page 3.
SF: In order to give my ideas some con-
crete form I came up with a simple for-
mula that you can put into practice.
Suppose you want to achieve some
worldly aim with a financial component.
You want to sell something, start a busi-
ness, whatever. You write down what you
want to do and you write down what
amount of money you are going to give to
Subud if you succeed.
It is important to write it down because as
we all know, once we are successful it can
be easy to forget the commitment we’ve
made.
HS: Oh yes, we waver or redefine it or
fudge it or qualify it in some way or
other. The mind creeps in and finds a
thousand justifications for why we don’t
need to keep our promise
SF: Especially if you make more money
than you anticipated then you think, “Well,
I don’t have to give any of that!”
It’s up to you what amount you give, and
whether it’s a fixed amount or a percent-
age or whatever. It’s what your inner voice
tells you is right.
HS: By making that vow you ensure
that there is at least an element of altru-
ism in your effort.
SF: That’s right.
At one point in my recent experiences I
was directed to go to the Bible to read the
story of Ananias. This was a man and his
wife in one of the early Christian commu-
nities. The community made a commit-
ment that everyone was going to give up
their personal wealth and pool it for the
community.
Anaias and his wife sold their house but
they held back some of their money. As a
result they suffered a very heavy fate.
They died. There’s a lesson in that for us, I
think. We’re lucky to get away with as
much as we do.
HS: Sometimes it seems God requires
100% commitment. It’s fortunate for us
that He seems to let most of us off with
much less most of the time.
But if I understand you correctly, what
you are saying, is that by putting God
first it is like we align ourselves with a
spiritual law, and in sense begin to
“compel” the material world to obey us.
And the way we signify that we have put
God first is by making the commitment
to give away a portion of what we re-
ceive to Subud organisation or charities.
4 SUBUD VOICE - September 2004
That locks us into a vow, a commitment,
and a promise to God, that opens the
way for us to begin to control the mate-
rial.
Of course I guess we should stress that
this is not “magic”. We don’t want peo-
ple to try this and then get disappointed.
It still depends on your degree of sincer-
ity, commitment, ability to receive, dis-
cipline and worldly experience.
SF: Yes, of course, and more experienced
people should try to help those less experi-
enced.
Let me go back for a moment to what I
was saying about the “mirror” between the
spiritual and enterprise. There’s an anal-
ogy with helpers. We need “enterprise
helpers”. That's what SES should be.
In the kejiwaan, a helper tries to facilitate
other people’s receiving for themselves. It
is no use the helper receiving. What he or
she has to do is help the member to receive
for themselves.
It is the same in enterprise. The problem
with SES in the past is that it has been
from the top down, but what we have to do
is awaken activity at the grass roots.
Get people moving for themselves. Get
them confident about their own ideas and
receivings so that they begin to take steps
for themselves. We need to encourage that,
so that people will feel motivated and get
moving at whatever level they’re at.
HS: I know that part of your thinking is
that we are better off focusing on the
“outside” rather than the “inside”.
SF: Part of my recent insight is that we can
get a clearer idea of things if we look not
inside ourselves but outside ourselves.
You know Bapak spoke of the Roh Ilofi
which operates inside us, and the Roh
Kudus which operates outside us.
Often we “look inside” for guidance, but it
is very hard to discern what is genuine
guidance from what is rubbish.
We all know that we are a tumult of con-
flicting forces some good and some bad,
some helpful and some destructive, some
truthful and some misleading, and it is
very hard for us in our present state of
spiritual development to always identify
the voices that are correct and helpful us.
Outside circumstances can sometimes pro-
vide a more reliable guide. If things flow
well for us on the outside it is an indication
that we are probably “right” on the inside,
because the outside is an exact mirror of
how we are inside.
Outside circumstances can sometimes be a
more reliable “indication” of what we
should do and successful outcomes also
provide the “proof” that what we have
done is correct.
HS: So success or failure in enterprise
provides us with a measure of how we
are inside. We can fudge it when we
“look inside”, we can be all vague and
confused about it, but endeavour in the
material world provides objective guid-
ance. We succeed or fail. We make
money or we don’t. Money is a very ob-
jective guide isn’t it?
It's like laughter if you are a comedian.
The people laugh or they don’t laugh.
You have instant feedback about
whether you have succeeded or failed.
You don’t have to “look inside” to see
whether or not you are a comedian. You
don’t have to consult the Roh Ilofi. The
Roh Kudus has shown it to you. The
people laughed or they didn’t laugh.
SF: Of course, sometimes the Roh Ilofi
strikes like lightning then there is no ques-
tion about our “receiving”. But often the
inner picture is quite muddy, confused and
unclear.
I believe that we really have responsibility
as human beings to control the material.
This is the least we have to do in order to
be able to leave this world when we die.
And I believe that we can “compel” the
material to obey our will. And the way we
do that is by putting God first.
Someone said to me, “Oh this is like
you’re trying to bribe God. It’s like you
think you can force God to do something.
You want to make a bargain with God.
God, if I do this, then you have to do that.
You’re trying o compel God. And you
can’t bargain or control or bribe God.”
I hope this is not what I am recommend-
ing. What I am saying is more like, If you
make the commitment to God, then there
is a kind of spiritual law which compels
the material world to begin to obey you.
HS: It’s not that we seek to compel God,
but it is by putting God first, that we
begin to command the material world.
At the moment of death the material comes
and says, “Look, you owe all this to me.
All this money, all these possessions.” But
if you can say, “No, I got it all from God”,
then you will be free.
So even if we have spent a lifetime with
the material sitting on us, if at some time
before the end, we can master the material,
then I believe we will be free to leave this
earth.
This article will continue next time with
examples of how the “Experiment” has
worked out in practice. Enterprise stories
large and small.
 YES QUEST! THE HERO’S JOURNEY
I’m going to tell you a story. It is the story
of the hero that must quest long distances
to find himself. It is the story of the heroine
who must face her demons and her light in
order to realise her truth.
It is the story of each of us who have been
called away from our homes so that we
can see our lives from a different place in
order to return to it with new vision, clar-
ity and a plan to act.
Our hero’s quest begins with the story of
Irena. She was an ordinary girl who lived
in a simple village, in a forest that still
stood on a hill.
Irena loved her home, for even though it
was simple, it had all the comforts a girl
could want. But in all this perfection, there
was something missing and Irena wasn't
really happy. It was as if in her ordinary
life, Irena longed for something extraordi-
nary.
But no matter how hard she looked, she
couldn’t find it. But, she couldn't tell any-
one or ask for advice because people
would think her selfish, wanting when she
had everything. So she pushed down her
longing and continued with her life.
But as in everything that is pushed down, it
didn't stay that way for long. Because one
day, on leaving her home, Irena found an
invitation at her door. It invited her to
come on a journey. Written on a card, the
words said:
If life is ordinary and you’re needing to
change
And there’s a dream within that can’t seem
to get free
Then don’t feel worried and don’t feel you
are strange
Just buy the ticket and come journey with
me’
Irena was amazed. What an extraordinary
invitation. But she couldn’t see from whom
it came. It excited her and it frightened
her. The thought of leaving her safe home.
So, she stuck the invitation under her bed
and forgot about it. But like all things
stuck under beds, it didn’t stay stuck for
long. Because that night the invitation
came again, in her dream.
In the dream, the invitation came in the
beak of a bird. Only the bird had Irena’s
face. The only problem was that Irena
could not reach the invitation and the bird
couldn’t reach her.
Irena was surrounded by family, friends,
home and comforts. And as the dream con-
tinued, the things around her grew bigger
and softer and
fuller, taking up
more space. And
as the bird got
further away,
Irena suffocated,
unable to breath.
When Irena woke
up, the dream
stayed with her
and she realised
that she had to
respond to the
invitation. That it
was inviting her
to step away from
the ease of her life
and to follow her
soul’s longing to
find the extraordi- YES questing heroes and heroines.
nary.
their waterfalls, their sacred mountain –
Like Irena (the central character of a tale Mt Bundang - their laughter, their grief
that wove through the Yes Quest program and their great hearts and generosity.
this year) eleven young people and three
facilitators responded to their soul’s call to We experienced the extraordinary in each
meet the extraordinary, and took up the other. There is nothing more wonderful
invitation of the Yes Quest in Kalimantan than to share deep awareness and growth
for two weeks in July. with people that you can trust. And there is
no greater gift than to be invited to witness
There were four from Jakarta, Dhar- and support another person’s awakening to
mawan, Titin, Aryanadi, and Erwin) five themselves.
from Australia (Caroline, Arifin, Ruth,
Sofia, Roland, Marcus and Marlena), one We did this for each other and in doing so
from New Zealand (Samantha), one from we became a family. It is also a fine thing
the UK (Elanora) and 1 from Colombia to bring together 14 people from different
(Benedicto). And as one of the facilitators places around the world and to experience
I can share that each of us did experience our differences in language, culture, val-
the extraordinary. ues, habits and experience, while sharing a
powerful faith in God and the latihan.
We experienced the extraordinary in Run-
gan Sari. For many of our group the call to We experienced the extraordinary in our-
Kalimantan was strong…a pilgrimage to selves, as we explored who we are, and
our spiritual home. where we want to be in our lives. This self
enquiry and exploration was done through
To do the latihan there and to meet people a combination of creative expression, rit-
from all over the world that have made it ual, deep reflection and sharing, mapping
their home was inspiring. We also became our experiences and through the divine
aware of the challenges in becoming part power of testing.
of and offering something to the wider
community, through an exercise where we We were able to see the gifts and lessons
had to develop a project proposal that of our family, challenge the ways we sabo-
Subud youth could contribute to in Kali- tage ourselves, acknowledge our god given
mantan. talents, skills and abilities, vision our
dreams and goals, and create action plans
We experienced the extraordinary in the for bringing the extraordinary into our
Dayak culture and people. We spent an lives on returning home.
amazing 5 days in a village in the north of
It was an extraordinary quest and I can
Central Kalimantan.
only give thanks to the young people who
had the courage to respond to the call, to
The people of Desa Serahong welcomed
Freeman, Peter, Hamilton and Marcus for
us into their community and introduced us
bringing the Yes Quest into being and to
to their culture and beautiful natural envi-
almighty god for guiding us all on the
ronment. We shared in their ritual and
journey.
ceremony, their dance and music, their
food, their homes, their communal bath,
Marlena, Byron Bay, Australia
SUBUD VOICE - September 2004 5
 SECOND TALK TO MEMBERS
Ibu Rahayu’s talk in Christchurch, New Zealand, April 24 2004,
OH CHC 2: Final translation by Raymond Lee
Brothers and sisters, whom I love and re-
spect, good evening. Tonight, I will con-
tinue with my explanations, and what I say
to you tonight will be my last talk here in
Christchurch.
Brothers and sisters, as Subud members
who have received the latihan, we are truly
grateful that God has given this path to all
of us. We are grateful because with the
latihan - once we receive this contact from
the Power of God - we can be aware of,
and know, how God works inside a human
being. But before this, we never even
hoped this was possible and we had no
idea what was happening inside us, as
God’s creatures.
The truth is the Power of God is every-
where, both inside and outside human be-
ings. Perhaps you don't realise that God is
always close to human beings. But for
human beings, it is hard or difficult to ap-
proach God. Why is it said that we are far
from God? It's because living in this
world we have become familiar with all
kinds of worldly conditions as well as
states in our own being, where many dif-
ferent forces act to form us as a human
being. This is the cause, the reason, why
our true self is far from the power of God.
But it is not God's Will that we shouldn’t
make progress or that we can’t resolve the
problems we face in the world. God ex-
pects us to be able to restrain ourselves, to
free ourselves and separate ourselves from
the powers that stem from the low forces -
our passions and desires.
That’s why in the latihan we are intro-
duced to our true self, so that we can be-
come aware of how it is that we are able to
live in this world. God Wills that we live
in this world, along with our passions and
desires, but it is not God's Will that these
forces should dominate us. These forces
are the life equipment that we need for this
world so that we can adapt to the condi-
tions of this world.
That’s why, while it seems extremely sim-
ple, the nature of the latihan is that it has
no limits. By no limits, I mean that it
never ends. This is because life – our spiri-
tual life – is not just lived here, but will
continue in the next world. As such Subud
is not a preparation for death. On the con-
trary, our death is a bridge to life. So, for
as long as God still permits you to live in
this world, don’t waste your time; instead,
develop and foster the soul inside you.
6 SUBUD VOICE - September 2004
This is why the latihan passes through one
process after another. We call the first of
these: purification. So, to begin with, due
to the fact that you were born in this world
and that the first part of you to touch this
world was your physical body, your purifi-
cation normally starts in the physical
body; it is a physical purification. This
physical purification can take many forms,
depending on what parts of you need to be
purified.
We call this stage purification because, for
us to become human beings with a true
human nature, as God wishes, is no easy
task. This is because what you have in-
side, both what you have inherited as well
as the influences from your surroundings,
may not be truly your own. So purification
is something that will be experienced and
is necessary for Subud members.
Once the process of purification starts, our
soul will then continue to grow until it
penetrates our feelings and our senses. So
it is not only the physical body that is puri-
fied, the process also extends to our feel-
ings.
But what's the point of this purification?
The aim is to create a space inside you, a
space where the power of Almighty God
can be. But if you are full, if there is no
room - if you are like a glass of water that
is full of water, namely your desires - there
is no space for the Power of God to oc-
cupy you.
So by reducing your passions and desires,
by reducing all the things that soil you, the
Power of God can find a space inside you.
We call this process: preparation. So now,
after years and years of doing latihan,
many of you are at this stage of prepara-
tion. Preparation means that if God wants
you to, you will be able to understand or
receive something. Maybe you have al-
ready received something, but you don't
understand it yet. This is why some of
you have felt something enter you, but you
don't understand what it was yet. But, as
your latihan progresses, it will give you
the understanding.
This kind of understanding does not come
from your mind, because anything that is
received cannot be explained by the hu-
man mind, yet spontaneously you will
understand what it means. That shows that
a new understanding has arisen inside you.
So the truth is, brothers and sisters, that on
this path there is no need in fact for help-
ers. What I mean is that if you ask a
helper, that helper may not be able to un-
derstand yet. Why? Because the helper is
just to help with the latihan. That helper is
not yet a true helper in the spiritual sense.
Who is a true spiritual helper? Who can be
your teacher? God himself is inside you,
so we say that God is your teacher.
I think I should explain once again about
the low forces that you have often read
about. These are the material forces, the
vegetable forces, the animal forces - what
we call the low forces. But there is also
the force we call the human force. Most of
you still don't understand the human force
and you think that if you have reached the
level of the human force you will be free
from your desires. Not yet! Why not?
It’s because the jasmani or the human
force, is still a low force.
What kind of force is the jasmani? Well,
it governs the relationship between one
person and another. It is precisely this
force that can become a great obstacle to a
human being. Of course, there is no limit
to the different types of interaction be-
tween people. For example when a person
dislikes or hates another, they are influ-
enced by low forces.
This is especially a problem in the rela-
tionship between men and women. This
kind of relationship can be an obstacle in
your life. Why should this kind of rela-
tionship be an obstacle, brothers and sis-
ters?
After all, it is God's Will that there are two
sexes, namely men and women. However,
the purpose is so that a man and a woman
will have a descendant, a child who can
raise them up, a child that is alive. A child
who has the capacity to raise you up, is a
child that is good, one that is better than
you are. But most of the time, relation-
ships between men and women are still
governed by the urgings of the low forces.
I know it is hard for us to understand the
state that God intends for us. That’s why it
is very important in the latihan to surren-
der. To surrender doesn't mean to give up.
No! To surrender means that you turn a
problem over to God and you pray to be
given the path that is right for you. But if
you don't make an effort, God will not
give you His Blessing or the path that is
right for you.
This is the point, brothers and sisters, don't
think that because you are a human being
that you are a complete human being. If
Continued on page 11.
 September 2004
Editor Ilaina Lennard
Email: ilaine@subudvoice.net
“SHE CAN READ YOUR THOUGHTS”
Paula Blacking continues the story of her visit to Cilandak in 1964…
Ibu’s daughter’s name is
Rochanawati, but early on I
am told to call her M’bakju
(elder sister, and indeed, in every way,
this is true).
I am told that as a result of her
exceptional faith and submission to
Almighty God, she was granted the gift
of the ascension. From what I
understand it to mean, she left her body
and traversed the infinity of God’s
universe.
“You think this world is lovely,”
M’bakju said to me one day, “but I know
the other world. It is far, far better.”
Although it sounded like a fairy-tale, I
never doubted that what she said was
true. I listened to what she told me, not
incredulously, not disbelieving, but
simply accepting. In that sense, perhaps I
was given grace.
Thus her faith in God was unshakeable,
and when she did die about two years
later, quietly, in the home where I had
stayed, I was told by my friends in
Cilandak that Bapak, sitting downstairs
on the verandah, said, “Ah, yes, M’bakju
has left us.” There were no tears.
From my limited understanding, Bapak
must have loved her dearly. She must
have shared with him often, many, many
things, which only Bapak knew about,
and could share with no one else alive.
No wonder, that he always wanted her
close to him in Cilandak. When the
cable came from Indonesia from my
friends/brothers in the secretariat it said
that, “M’bakju has chosen the other life.”
I didn’t know about choosing, I still
don’t. All I knew was that I had lost the
dearest friend ever.
Rochanawati
When my brother Rainier Gebers visited
Indonesia in 1957, Bapak talked to him
about submission and surrender to God.
Rainier said that Bapak had said
something to the effect that only if God
willed it, would Rochanawati be cured
from her cancer.
That same night I mentioned earlier,
when I was sobbing my heart out,
M’bakju said: “Come to Tshikini.” This
is where she lives. “I will help you,” she
said.
She tells me that the first time she met
me, she “knew” about me and more, but
she could not say more. I begin slowly
to understand that her inner self is so
perfectly in tune as a result of her
constant worship and sincere submission
to God, that she is immediately sensitive
to others’ feelings.
And this is naturally hard for her to bear.
One day when Varindra is visiting, he
tells me how frightened he is of her,
because “she can read your thoughts”.
I am into my second week in Cilandak
and I find I cannot throw off this utter
misery, this all-enveloping sadness, this
feeling of devastating hopelessness, this
accompanying anger. I do not relate it at
the time to my little daughter Fiona’s
death. I do this much later. But M’bakju
knows all this with her exquisite insight.
I realise later, that this comes from her
absolute submission and worship of
Almighty God.
So, it is in the latihan, not socially, that
she says to me: “All this sadness and
anger must go, Paula. Ask God’s
forgiveness. Submit to Him. Do not
think.”
She tells me to submit to God. How can
I? She tells me to ask God’s forgiveness.
How can I? I am desperate and I begin
to sob and sob and sob.
M’bakju comes to me with her infinite
patience. “Put your trust in God,” she
says. “God is all-powerful” and she says
further: “Repeat the name Allah, or God.
This means God is all-powerful. Just go
on saying it. And when you see He has
helped you, you will feel greater faith.”
I do as she says. For the present, it
doesn’t help at all! I have no idea then
that she herself is suffering from an
incurable cancer and will die before I get
back to Java. She knows and Bapak
knows.
Bapak explains about Fiona
I see Bapak for an interview. Prio is the
interpreter, and my brother Rainier is
also present. I tell Bapak, I feel blame
because my faith and my latihans which I
had done with my little Fiona regularly
for three years in order to “heal her”, had
not been sufficient to prevent her death.
There was a belief in Subud at the time
that the latihan could heal one. Eva
Bartok, the famous actress, whom I had
met at Coombe Springs, had been healed
as a result of the latihan. The world
newspapers grabbed this story and talked
about the “healer”, Muhammad Subuh.
Healing was not the reason I had joined
Subud. I had already been in Subud for
two years when Fiona became ill. But of
course Eva’s story lingered in all our
minds.
Bapak, in the interview, says I should not
blame myself with my lack of faith. That
there was an imbalance between Fiona’s
inner and outer. That he would pray that
Continued on page 9.
INNER VOICE - September 2004 7
 The Path of the Soul
A selection from Ibu Rahayu's 2nd Talk in Tokyo, Japan, on the morning of May 3rd 2004.
Recording: 04 TYO 02 - Provisional Podium Translation by Sharif Horthy
Answers to women's questions
Brothers and Sisters, I would like to start
the program for this morning, which is
questions and answers about the path of
the soul…or the realm of the soul.
..But I am of course a human being and
therefore my answers may have
shortcomings or may not be complete. ..
And I want to ask your forgiveness in
case I cannot answer some things that
you want to ask.
In particular I don't want to answer
things that I haven't experienced for
myself. Because if it is something that I
have not experienced then I will be
answering from my human intelligence –
which means I will be giving you some
kind of picture or image from my own
imagination. And that will not be right.
A secret of God
Sharif: The first question is: Will we
after death be able to meet those who are
not opened while living in this world ?
Sharif: (translates for Ibu) It is true that
if we are doing the Latihan – even
though we are alive in this world – we
may be given an experience where we
are ..given some introduction or an
experience of how will be our life after
death. This is something that can happen
if it is willed by God. And therefore it
may be that I'm able to give you a limited
amount of knowledge about …what
happens to us after death.
But the fact is that ..how we will live in
the next world after we have died, is a
secret of God. If it was not a secret ..
everybody would already know it. The
fact is we do not. And if God keeps this a
secret then there is a reason for it. And
the reason is that actually with our
human nature – with our limitations as
we are in this world – we are not strong
enough to bear…or to be able to carry
the knowledge of the things that God
knows. In other words – we cannot while
living in this world…cope with…the
Greater Knowledge that is the
Knowledge of God.
Sharif: ( I want to apologise – I left out
something.) Ibu said that this is a secret
of God and, as I said, people generally do
not know it. And for us to know it – for
us who do the Latihan – we have to do
the Latihan for a long, long time before
maybe God will give us a taste or some
experience about what life after death
will be like.
8 INNER VOICE - September 2004
..Now for example – even though we are
doing Latihan but still living in this
world – our Latihan will already have an
influence on our ancestors. ..And they
will be able to approach our Latihan. So
if they come close ..when we are doing
Latihan, they will feel some peace or
coolness from the fact that we are doing
Latihan. So although we may not be
aware of it – we are actually able to help
our ancestors who wish to find a way to
God. So although they may not yet
have ..the spiritual contact that we have,
they can as it were follow us through our
Latihan. But it may be that they are not
aware of us. Or it may be that we are not
aware of them. Because the instruments
that we use are of course very different
from the instruments that they use when
they are already living in the other world.
And this kind of reality – or this kind of
experience – is not something that we are
able to theorise about or work out with
our mind. Because it is beyond the ability
of our mind to grasp. That is the reason
why I cannot guarantee to you that when
you have died you will meet people you
would like to meet or who have died long
before you or something like that. It's
impossible to know in advance. Apart
from everything else – when you have
died you no longer have feelings of
wanting or of missing somebody or of
longing and things like that. That is all
left behind.
So what happens to you after you die has
to do …not with wanting or longing but
with God's Will. If God Wills that you
experience something or you meet
somebody – or there is a particular need
or a particular reason – then it can
happen.
Meeting my mother
As an example I can give you one of the
experiences I had when I was on my
spiritual journey. Of course I was at that
time…still living in this world. But in the
midst of this spiritual journey ...I was
rather shocked or surprised when
suddenly there was this woman who
came close to me. And she told me that
she was my mother. Though at that time I
didn't have any feeling of wanting to
meet my mother or of looking for my
mother – it so happened that we were
given this opportunity.
And I asked her 'who are you ?' And she
said 'I'm your mother'. But we only spoke
what was necessary. We didn't then
embrace and kiss each other and all
that. .. And she said she understood that I
was on a spiritual mission of my own and
that I was carrying out my responsibility
or my task. And she said 'this is for you.
This is not for me. So please go ahead.'
Another example was an experience of
my servant who had only recently been
opened. And during her Latihan she was
running round chasing after something.
And afterwards she said that actually
what she was doing was following her
mother. Because she saw her mother in
the Latihan and she was trying to follow
her mother. In fact she hadn't been in
Subud long when this happened. And
after some time her mother disappeared
in the darkness and she couldn't see her
anymore. And she then cried because of
the feeling of loss after seeing her
mother.
So this is something…this is another
proof for us that the life of our soul is not
limited to this world – that there is
something beyond. But of course in a
different condition. Because the
instruments we have here are completely
different from the instruments that we
will have over there. But nevertheless
there is still often a feeling of
connection – a feeling that connects us to
our relatives or whoever it is. And this
kind of experience …probably there are
several of you who have also had these
experiences in your Latihan.
So this is all I can say in answer to your
question about whether we may be able
to meet our relatives – or people who
have gone before us – when we die. This
is something…in other words…that we
simply have to leave to God. Because it
is not our work. It is God's Work and we
have to surrender it to God...
The life of our soul
Question: Is the soul of those who are
not opened eternal - the same as the soul
of those who are opened ?
Answer: Of course there is a difference
in the two cases. And this is what I
explained last night. That we are very
fortunate through the Latihan that our
jiwa is awakened and is given the
opportunity to wake up and grow and be
purified and come to life.
This is something that makes a big
difference. Because from this life we
already experience the life of our soul.
Continued on page 9.

About those who have not been opened ..
Continued from page 8.
In the case of people who have not been
opened and have not yet received this
contact with God's Power – of course it is
different. They…of course everyone has
a soul. Because every creature has a soul.
But in their case this soul is…it's like
asleep or dormant during their life in this
world.
When someone like that dies, then of
course…at that moment their jiwa will
awake…and will live. But it will be life
like what we experience when we are
first opened. It will be a sort of
preliminary kind of life. It will be new –
it will be a first taste of life. Because
what the situation at that moment will be
[is] that the soul will be still in a state
where it is encapsulated or trapped in
these lower forces which have been
ruling over it in this world. So they are
not yet free…the soul will not yet be free
to grow. So it still has to go through the
process of freeing itself from these
forces.
So to continue answering this question –
does that mean then that only Subud
people can experience this development
of the soul during their life-time in this
world ?
Well – one would think not. Because we
know that God has given His Grace to
Messengers in the past who received this
experience and who were able to pass on
this to their followers. But the question
is – to what extent were they able to pass
this on to their followers ? And to what
extent has it come down to the followers
of the present day ? In other words what
it is so easy that people outside Subud
often don't believe it. And they think
what we do has something to with
hypnotism or spiritism or something like
that.
has remained of this Grace that God has
given to His Messengers in the past ?
So this is why it is very important that in
Subud we have testing so that you can
Well – this is something we can only
confirm these things for yourself. You
leave to God. We cannot know for
can confirm the reality of this for
certain to what extent this has come
yourself. Through your own experience.
down to other people through their
religions. But we can see that the
So testing is really very important
evidence is as time has gone on - because
because it is your own experience. So if
these Messengers of God lived a very
you don't believe in what you receive in
long time ago - that the extent to which
the testing it means you don't believe in
people are able to pass down through the
yourself. Because the experience comes
generations this Gift, is very limited due
through your own self.
to the fact of our worldly needs and the
pressure of living in this world. There is
Asking God’s forgiveness
strong evidence that this ability to
receive has become less and less as
Sharif: The question (to Ibu) was 'if we
generations have progressed.
ask forgiveness from God - and assuming
that God gives it – how can we perceive
So it is clear that in today's modern world
God's forgiveness as a reality ?'
Bapak was able to receive…without
looking for it and without wanting it…
Ibu said – you cannot ask God for proof
Bapak was given God's Grace and was
in this matter because we simply have to
able to receive God's grace in the form of
surrender it to God. In other words when
the Latihan. And he was able to pass it
we ask God for forgiveness we simply
on to all of you today. And for that
surrender to God whether He will forgive
reason Subud is able to receive the
us or not. And we cannot demand proof
members of any religion, providing they
or expect some kind of guarantee.. So
believe in God's Power.
you have to remember that God is not
our servant. We cannot order God to fit
..So Subud is simply the practical
in with our requirements.
application of what was received in those
religions at the very beginning where the
Sharif: Ibu also said something else that
Power of God that is within us - which is
she would like me to translate, and that
the life that is within us - is touched or
is: that when we make a mistake we ask
contacted by the Great Power that
for forgiveness. Asking forgiveness
envelops the whole Universe. Because
implies surrender. So we don't demand
we need to understand that we get life
that God forgives us. For our wish for
not from our parents but from God. And
forgiveness to be received we have to
we are able to pass this on in Subud
surrender. If we demand forgiveness it
through the opening. But this can only be
will not get to God.
done through somebody who has already
received it before. And the way of doing

Paula Blacking remembers...
Continued from page 7.
God would grant me another child whose
inner would be better balanced, and that I
may experience a “death” when the child
is conceived.
I explain the last months of Fiona’s
illness. How several months before she
died, when the blood count was normal,
even then, she had told a friend that she
would die. How aghast I had been. And
how several weeks before she died, also
when she was quite well, she had told her
older sister, Jessica, that she “would go
to heaven, because it is too hard here”.
Again I was shocked.
On the last day when things were frantic,
we were at home. A nurse was present,
also a doctor and we were trying a
LAST, and of course a hopeless blood
transfusion. Then an oxygen tent was
erected.
“Do the latihan,” Fiona said, which my
Subud friend and I promptly did. I crept
into the oxygen tent to assist her to
breathe. Then she said: “Go now.”
This I understood to be her farewell and
that she needed to be on her own. I did
as she said and soon it was all over.
The phone rang. It was a musician, who
has been struggling to finish a
composition. Fiona had appeared to him.
“Is she alright?” he asked.
In the interview Bapak says: “All you
say is true. Her inner knew she was
dying. And that is why she also
appeared to your friend.”
I have a need to tell Bapak everything.
So I go on and tell him how I, together
with my friend, kept vigil with her that
night. How, in the early hours of the
morning, I started the latihan and felt
stretched very high.
“Yes,” says Bapak, “that happened when
her soul, already very high, touched
yours’.”
Then Bapak continues: “She is now the
responsibility of God.” He says I must no
longer dwell on it. But because she died
when she was so small (she was 4½) my
latihan would help her. And that it was
good that I had come to Indonesia.
All this time, during the interview with
Bapak, I felt (and I had this same feeling
several times again over the years), that
the Bapak we saw and talked with,
wasn’t there at all. A most definite
feeling that Bapak, the man, was absent.

INNER VOICE - September 2004 9


The Nature of Plants
Bapak explains more about the nature of plants..act
from SUSILA BUDHI DHARMA
32 Now, having completed the
explanation of how the vegetable forces
act on humankind, it is best immediately
to follow this by analysing some plants
one by one. This is necessary in order
that their nature may be understood more
fully.
33 Take first, as an example, the
characteristics of the food called rice.
Coming from plants grown in paddy
fields, it is the staple food and everyday
necessity for many people.
34 Paddy is a plant that grows in fields
filled with water, and it needs a great
amount of water to thrive. Its stalk is
slender but fairly long and, besides being
hollow, is jointed. It is short-lived, for it
ripens fast.
35 Since, first and foremost, paddy
needs a lot of water, the influence of the
force of food derived from it makes
people who eat it unable to withstand
suffering easily. They just expect to be
given quick satisfaction and a sufficiency
for their life, and lack the spirit to exert
themselves to raise their standard of
living.
36 Also, their opinions waver, and they
have no wish to try to broaden their
outlook on life.
37 Rather, if help does not come their
way in life, their feeling is just to put up
with things and be left to their lot, simply
accepting it, lowly and wretched though
their circumstances may be.
38 The long, slim stalk of the rice plant
is like a sign that these people, besides
feeling insecure, will always have a sense
of futility in whatever steps they take, so
their hearts will easily become weak-
willed and narrow.
39 The hollow and jointed nature of the
stalk means that those under this
influence are emotionally very simple,
and are apt to let other people know
whatever is on their mind; it causes their
will to be disjointed, which means they
are always undecided about what they
want.
40 The short life and quick maturing of
paddy indicate that such people cannot
sustain their will for long and are readily
satisfied with whatever they get.
41 Other kinds of foods are also
commonly eaten in villages; for instance,
vegetables. These too are planted and
cultivated in paddy fields, and in fact do
not differ much from what has been said
of paddy.
42 The effect of eating this sort of food
is to make people feel amiable, peaceful,
10 INNER VOICE - September 2004
content to stay where they were born,
pleased to live simply and to accept
whatever lot befalls them.
43 Thus, eating such food has so
affected people’s feelings that they lack
the capacity to project those feelings
beyond rural life.
44 Fortunately, villagers can also feed
on other fare, such as coconut milk and
bamboo shoots – bamboo at a very early
stage of its growth – which are used for
seasoning and flavouring, and come from
the coconut palm and the bamboo cane.
45 Coconut palms can grow anywhere
and without attention, even when
surrounded by other vegetation. Their
trunks are thick and tall, straight and
strong, and branchless. The coconuts
grow at the top of the tree, which bears
them almost without pause.
4 So those influenced by them may have
not only the characteristics mentioned
earlier, but also a broad outlook and great
self-reliance, even when conditions of
life are disorganised. They may also have
firmly rooted opinions that are not
readily swayed by other people, and they
are not easily caught by life’s
temptations.
47 Furthermore, the position of the fruit
and the almost continuous bearing of
fruit signify that those who eat it like to
store away the fruits of their skill and
knowledge, to stop other people having
access to them. At times, however, if
somebody really wins their confidence,
they will share with them quite
unreservedly.
48 Other food comes from the bamboo
cane, which has a rather slim, long,
straight and pliable stem; it is hollow,
divided into sections, and covered with
prickly hairs that deter anyone who
wants to touch it.
49 This food broadens people’s outlook;
but in that breadth of view they often feel
indecisive, because they lack the strength
to stand up to the constant pressure of
circumstances.
50 Fortunately, however, this will not
cause a complete breakdown, because
they always have the ingenuity and
resourcefulness to ward that off.
51 The hollow, sectional stem of
bamboo means that, although they are
pleased to be frank and open, again and
again this is thwarted because they
remain filled with anxiety.
52 The prickly hairs covering the
bamboo stem cause these people to relish
provoking quarrels, which irritates other
people and sows the seeds of conflict.
53 Such are the effects on the human
self of the power in plant life. That is
why people are very easily swayed by
that force, which can lead to their
downfall from their status as noble
creatures who, in reality, should be the
mainstay of all the creatures on earth.
54 Being so easily swayed this way and
that by these companions, they can no
longer find the way to fulfil their
commitment to become the teachers of
all other creatures.
55 They should be able to open the way
for these forces within themselves to
meet their counterparts and enable them
to live a sublime life after death.
56 On the face of it, this idea cannot
possibly be justified, for it is beyond
belief that mere plants could have such
opinions, since they lack minds and there
is nothing to show that they are capable
of considering the problems of their life.
57 That way of thinking is indeed
tenable, when based simply on what the
mind knows; but for you, who have had
some experience of your individuality, an
opinion like this is not confirmed by your
inner feeling.
58 So, in fact, if you fail to order your
life in the right way, you will not escape
and will really feel the ill effects this has
on your life.
59 In general, then, villagers’ feelings
vary little from those mentioned. Usually
these people are content to give way and
accept whatever befalls them. This sort
of attitude is in fact very praiseworthy if
it comes from the human inner feeling,
but if not – that is to say, if it arises
merely from the pressure of the forces of
plant life and matter – then this
willingness to give in and to put up with
whatever happens will only lead them
astray.
60 That is why many villagers always
live in poor conditions. Easily deceived
by shrewder people, they are unable to
live free and independent lives, but are
subject throughout their whole life to the
will of others who are astute enough to
manipulate them. So however
painstakingly they work, they reap little
benefit for themselves, the profit falling
almost entirely to those who know how
to exploit them.
Available from:
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IBU RAHAYU’S TALK
Continued from page 6.
you're not complete yet, you can be easily
misled, or influenced by other people; be-
cause your true self is not complete, it's not
firm.
Brothers and sisters, when we say that this
spiritual path is simple, it is! Yet it is dif-
ficult to think about. If God wishes to give
something to you, then no matter when-
ever or wherever you are, you will receive
it. But if it is not the time yet to receive
something, don’t feel resentful or bored.
Feelings of boredom and resentment come
from the low forces, low forces that tempt
you. But if the time comes when God
wants to give you His Grace, regardless of
whatever you are doing - whether you are
sitting, or whether you are asleep or just
lying around, you will receive it.
At this point, I want to explain in more
depth about receiving, because many
Subud members are too quick to say “I just
received this. I received that.” Well, I'm
not saying this is wrong, because indeed
they feel they received something, but this
is what I want to explain more about.
It's true, that the latihan is a receiving. The
first time we experienced this receiving
was when we were opened. Why do we
call it: receiving? It's because what
touched you inside, what touched your
soul, was the Power of God and not an-
other human being. When a helper opens
someone, it is not the helper that does the
opening, but the Power that is in that
helper, that is the Power of God, not the
power of the helper. Because the helper
has received the contact, he or she can in
turn touch other people when in a state of
surrender and trust in Almighty God. This
is a receiving, a receiving that opens you.
Doing latihan is also a form of receiving,
but it is your receiving in latihan, it is the
process of your purification and prepara-
tion.
But a time can come, when you have pro-
gressed far enough in the latihan that the
receiving will be specifically meant for
you. However, if you are not prepared you
will not be able to receive it. Why not?
Because you are not in the state that is
ready, you're still cloaked by passions and
desires. Part of you has still to be touched
by the life of your soul. For instance, sup-
pose God whispers something in your ear,
but if your ear is not ready, if it is not
alive, then that receiving will not reach
you.
But there is also receiving that is specifi-
cally meant for that person once that per-
son has been able to set aside their low
forces. Well, we can't know when we
have set aside our low forces, or when we
have put aside the low forces. But to re-
ceive something from the Power of God,
we have to leave behind the low forces –
the material forces, the vegetable forces,
the animal forces and so on. Only then
can we receive it.
This kind of receiving is so that you can be
a witness. To witness God’s Power that
God is truly All-Powerful, that God truly
exists. And some of you who have done
latihan for a long time have experienced
this.
This is why we need to hold kejiwaan
gatherings. The purpose of a kejiwaan
gathering is not for you to boast or show
off to each other. We cannot analyse the
path of the soul with our mind and neither
can we debate it. However, by having a
feeling of harmony, by talking about
things together, by getting to know about
each other's experiences, you will get the
energy or motivation to continue to look
for what you seek.
So, brothers and sisters, don't feel satisfied
just to make movements in latihan. Move-
ment isn’t enough. What do your move-
ments mean? You have to find that out for
yourself.
For instance, you feel sad, but why do you
feel sad? How can you get rid of your
sadness? That's why, when I test with you,
I say: How is it when you are sad? And,
How can you get rid of your sadness and,
How is it you when you're happy? When
you feel happy you are open.
But if you despair, or you are depressed,
you won't know where to go or what direc-
tion to take. You want to find God, but
where is God? God is everywhere. Even
inside you, God is there. There’s no need
to go to some isolated spot to look for
God. Look inside yourself, and pray to
God to help you.
So clearly, what we call receiving is only
receiving that you have received from your
self in your feelings. That’s why members
often ask, “Why was my receiving
wrong?” While another will say, “Well,
my receiving has turned out to be right.”
Clearly, if it is not right, if it wrong, it is
still mixed in with influences from the low
forces, the low forces that make up your
feelings.
This is why it is wrong for us to say, “My
receiving is right, your receiving is
wrong." It is not certain who is right and
who is wrong. That’s still a question. So
at a kejiwaan gathering, we must not
claim, “My receiving is closer to the truth,
my receiving is better!” Try to feel to-
gether, what is correct. If you do this, you
will not only educate other members, you
will also teach yourself to be a better
helper, so that we know that truth is in
God's hands.
Well, if I were to continue, there would be
no end to the explanations about this spiri-
tual path. In fact, all this can be found in
Bapak’s talks. However, when we come
to read them, if we try to read them using
our mind, if we try to understand them
with our mind, it’s very hard. But by fol-
lowing the path of the latihan, little by
little, you will be able to understand what
Bapak means in those talks. These talks
are Bapak’s receiving that he was given
for you. So nobody told Bapak those
things.
So if somebody tries to simplify or reinter-
pret Bapak’s talks to make them easier to
understand, the result may be that it actu-
ally deviates from the true meaning God
gave to humankind. Some people intend
to make the talks simpler to understand,
and to them it looks like the talks they
modify are easier to understand, but their
modification reduces the true content of
the talk.
That’s all brothers and sisters, for tonight,
I think this is enough. Should we set aside
time for questions? Okay, with respect to
this talk, I will finish now, but I will give
you an opportunity to ask questions, be-
cause tonight is the last night. Ask about
anything you have received in the latihan,
but not about personal problems. So I will
make time now to answer your questions,
but because the path of the latihan is very
broad there may be questions that I can't
answer. If you have questions, I will make
time for them now.
Questions and Answers following Ibu’s
Talk
Question: What’s the purpose of receiving
something if we can’t understand it?
Ibu: That’s not what I mean by a receiving
- that is just the contact. It’s still....well,
the soul is alive and it is as if the soul
moves around inside you so, in fact it is
not a receiving. What I mean by receiving
is when God gives something to you. God
may give you advice, or something that
you need.
Question: What does it mean when we
bump into people in the latihan? What
should one do if you don’t feel surrendered
enough to move freely because you are
afraid to bump into someone else – so he
cannot surrender fully because he is afraid
to bump into someone else.
Ibu: Well, it's just an accident. But, if your
latihan truly comes from inside, then when
you are about to bump into someone you
will feel it and you will move away. But if
we're still a state where...well if we do
latihan together and we are not united, we
are in a state of confusion, then we will
Continued on page 12.
SUBUD VOICE - September 2004 11
 IBU RAHAYU’S TALK
Continued from page 11.
bump into each other. Each person follows
their own way and two people may both
want to go in the same direction. But if our
latihan is truly moved from inside then
when you bump into someone it doesn't
matter. In fact, it is the helpers’ responsi-
bility to handle this. When you do latihan,
you must feel free to move and you
shouldn't restrain yourself. There’s no
need to be afraid of bumping into some-
one, or afraid to make too much noise.
There is no need. You have to let go! But
don't hit other people in latihan, don't do
that!
Question: I just want to ask: before we do
latihan should we ask God or something
before we start, or pray, do you know what
I mean?
Ibu: Yes, ask God to accompany your lati-
han and to guide you. This is necessary
because some people arrive at latihan full
of emotion - perhaps you had a fight at
home, or you left home feeling bad. But
when you get to the latihan you must put
all that aside by asking God to guide you –
that’s what you need to do, then your
movements will be preceded by an inner
movement and not preceded by something
else.
Question: Sometimes people ask me what
happens when they feel they are picking up
in latihan how other people are feeling -
how they are sad or how they are feeling -
and asked what they should do about this?
I would like to hear something about that.
Ibu: Well, when your latihan truly comes
from inside, other people will have no ef-
fect on you. Each of you will be protected
in your latihan, so you won't be affected by
other people.
Question: I have been opened for about
three years now, and there's been a few
occasions when people who have been
recently opened and aren't feeling much or
having trouble surrendering have come to
me for help, instead of the helpers, be-
cause they didn't feel comfortable going to
the helpers - with the age gap and so on
and so forth. I'm just wondering, in these
situations, if I should just say no and pass
them on to the helpers and say that they
are the ones you should really be talking
to, or, if I should try and impart what little
knowledge I have of the latihan?
Ibu: Well, it depends on the individual. If
you feel confident in yourself then there is
no need to ask others. You can answer
questions as long as your explanation is
based on what you have received, and not
something you made up. You must answer
from your own experience.
12 SUBUD VOICE - September 2004
Question: How does one know whether a
dream is a true receiving or just a dream?
I won't describe the four dreams I’ve had,
but at the end of the dream I had the ex-
perience of seeing Bapak and a very rich
ornate building that seemed tropical in
nature. The dream had great meaning for
me and it has been very vivid and remains
with me for years. But how does one know
if it is a true receiving, or an extraordinary
dream?
Ibu: Well, the truth is that a dream is not
100% a receiving. What I mean by a re-
ceiving is something that happens when
you are in a conscious and in a normal
state. A dream happens when you are
asleep, that’s why I said it is not 100%.
Sometimes a dream is just a sign, a pic-
ture. A sign that is just to show you that
Bapak is still alive. Although Bapak is
dead, he is still present, he is still working,
and he still helps Subud members, so you
get a sign. But what I was explaining yes-
terday about receiving is something that
we receive when we are in conscious state
and we are fully aware of everything that
happens to us. It's not a dream.
Question: Could Ibu say something about
prihatin?
Ibu: Well, practising prihatin (asceticism)
is not part of our spiritual training. Pri-
hatin is to train yourself, to train yourself
to achieve what you are hoping for. That’s
prihatin, but it is not part of the latihan.
It’s more of a physical training. But be-
cause we are in Subud, it can sometimes
help, it can help us set aside or reduce our
desires.
Question: The question is about the spread
of Subud in the Middle East where people
follow Islam. They are Muslims, and on
the whole they don’t like Subud – but they
really need the latihan. Does Ibu have any
comments?
Ibu: Well, we can't force this. Subud de-
velops according to God's Will. We can't
second-guess how it will develop. For
instance, we never thought that it could
spread in Russia, but suddenly it hap-
pened. It can only happen if it is God's
Will. Well, we hope it can happen, but it
has to be from their will. If they truly want
to follow Subud, there will be a way for it
to spread. But, if they are still closed to it,
there's nothing we can do.
Question: This didn’t happen in the lati-
han, it was actually in the car park. I was
feeling very upset, and I could feel the feel-
ing of the emotion, and especially some of
the forces, and there was this column just
going up like that – or maybe coming
down, I am not sure which. Anyway, sud-
denly there was this column, and I wasn’t
upset anymore. I could feel the upset try-
ing or wanting to stay. Is this column what
I’m supposed to be looking for; is it my
jiwa, my real self?
Ibu: This is just an indication or a sign that
the wall or block of your emotions should
be put aside. So, it's just a sign. It is a type
of receiving, but it’s something that you
receive from your own self. It’s a kind of
help or assistance from the latihan. Assis-
tance can come to us in many forms - such
as the ruh al-qudus. God sometimes gives
people help from an external source and
that is the working of the ruh al-qudus.
But if we find our way from our own
awareness, that is guidance from within,
from the ruh ilafi.
Question: Where is Bapak now?
Ibu: You have to find out for yourself.
Each of us may find that Bapak is every-
where - a member may think that Bapak is
over there, but another says Bapak is here.
So I can't tell you where Bapak is. The life
of the soul is different from life here and
we can’t say whether the soul is here or
there. That’s why for instance, somebody
says “Oh, I feel my soul is close to Bapak”
and somebody else in America will say, “I
did latihan with Bapak.” I can't tell you
whether Bapak is in America, or whether
Bapak is here. Bapak’s soul is alive, and it
is very broad.
Question: Can only Subud members re-
ceive the latihan?
Ibu: There are others, but only people who
are truly blessed by Almighty God. It's
possible that God did not just give God’s
Blessing to Bapak, but also to other peo-
ple. Yes, it's possible.
Question: If I can ask you about the ruh
ilafi and ruh-al-kudus. My understanding
of the ruh ilafi is that it is completely out
of our hands and whatever help Almighty
God gives us comes by itself. But as for the
ruh-al-kudus, it is valid to ask that for any
endeavour that one might do, that one has
the help through the ruh-al-kudus.
Ibu: Well, help from God that comes
from the ruh al-qudus is granted only if
God Wills, and the help that comes from
inside you is also only by God's Will, that
is from the ruh ilafi. So, whether help
comes or not depends on God’s Will. We
cannot order God. If we could it would be
easy. For example, somebody has an acci-
dent in a car and that person miraculously
escapes. That is a Grace from God; the ruh
al-qudus helped that person. Help from
inside comes from the ruh ilafi, so some-
thing that is right will be guided by God,
but if it is something that is wrong, then it
won’t be guided by the ruh ilafi .
Continued on page 14.
 CRUNCH TIME FOR CULTURAL PROJECT
Funding for the VITALIZATION AND
EMPOWERMENT OF CULTURE IN
CENTRAL KALIMANTAN – CONFLICT
PREVENTION AND THE ARTS PRO-
JECT will be provided by the Indonesian
government through a loan from the World
Bank.
But the World Bank won’t release the
funds until the initiators and consultants to
the project have their first year salaries
secured. Currently more than half of those
funds have been committed by the Ford
Foundation and the Muhammad Subuh
Foundation.
Below is an interview of Riduan Tomkins
and Simon Dick by Manuel Oliver regard-
ing the project and the funding situation..
A couple of months ago I sat down with
Simon Dick and Riduan Tomkins in Ja-
karta to interview them concerning their
social project: Visualization and Empow-
erment of culture in Central Kalimantan —
Conflict Prevention & the Arts.
Their Project is at an important stage as
they are prepared to accept World Bank
funding in a few months (The disbursal of
the funds was scheduled for August 04
but the elections in Indonesia have delayed
it).
Through two long years of discussions, the
World Bank has convinced the Indonesian
government that Simon and Riduan’s pro-
ject perfectly dovetails with the cultural
program the World Bank would like to see
advanced in Indonesia.
The World Bank sees the project as a
model for what they hope to see imple-
mented in other provinces in Indonesia.
Central Kalimantan is one of four Indone-
sian provinces on the island of Borneo, its
capital city is Palangkaraya. The Subud
land at Rungan Sari is 36 km north of the
city.
The poorest province in Kalimantan, Cen-
tral Kalimantan is home to dozens of eth-
nicities from the various islands in the In-
donesian archipelago as well as many sub-
groups of Dayaks, the original inhabitants
of the island.
And as many will remember there was a
disastrous conflict between the Dayaks
and the Madurese in 2000.
Their project emphasizes strengthening the
society’s own ability to enhance the cohe-
siveness of the communities in the area.
Their target is the city of Palangkaraya and
all of its surrounding villages. They will
Riduan Tomkins and Simon Dick.
begin to work among the existing com-
munity groups in the area.
The concept and the project proposal
itself grew organically from contacts
with the community and with their input.
Additionally, Christina Kreps, an anthro-
pologist and Museumologist from the
University of Denver who did her doc-
toral research in Palangkaraya has given
valuable input and will continue as an
advisor as will Indonesian professionals.
Essentially the aim is to help all the peo-
ple of the area to be more aware of their
unity rather than their differences. Focus-
ing on the Madura incident in 2000
would be a mistake. It is still too sensi-
tive.
However promoting harmony through
cultural activities and seeking compatible
conflict resolution methods is essential.
It is these issues that brought the World
Bank’s interest to Central Kalimantan.
Key activities of the project involve in-
terchanges between the cultures of the
area and dialogue within the groups, us-
ing cultural and artistic performances to
facilitate mutual expressions of culture
and values.
The Provincial Museum of Central Kali-
mantan will be a central venue for exhib-
iting cultural displays and fostering inter-
actions. The development of a fine arts
program at the University of Palang-
karaya is likewise central to the program.
It started with a very “Subud” experience
Riduan recalls. Three years ago he had
just recently arrived in Jakarta and was
doing Ramadan. He had an experience
about Kalimantan that prompted him to
go there. This was coupled with an ex-
perience when he first arrived in Indone-
sia. When he saw Ibu Rahayu she
looked at him and said “Kalimantan?”
So he went to see what was possible.
He first met with the University of
Palangkaraya to investigate the kinds
of arts programs they had. And he
found that though they had a Fine Arts
program in theory, there wasn’t any-
thing there, no classes or capable Fac-
ulty.
It took but one week to sign a Memo-
randum of Understanding with the Uni-
versity under the auspices of SICA,
with Bachtiar Lorot then SICA chair
lending his support and blessing. The
idea was for Riduan to be an artist in
residence there with all that entails,
teaching and lecturing, having working
space, etc...
Riduan explains his conception of his
role with the University , “I’m thor-
oughly institutionalized. The artist as
scholar is a concept which the Japanese
understand…”
“It has to be tangible: lecturer, re-
search, work, teaching… the museum
gives space so context is provided and
they have better facilities than the Uni-
versity”.
Meanwhile Simon was living in Jakarta
and giving tours. He had followed his
wife to Jakarta as she was principal of
the flourishing school in Wisma
Subud.
He started organizing tours of Indone-
sia prior to the Bali World Congress in
2001. From those successes he started
to do the same thing in Kalimantan,
specifically going up river to see the
rain forest and to see the Dayak long
houses and other aspects of their tradi-
tional culture.
An interest in the rapidly changing
culture naturally followed. During the
months following the uprising of some
Dayaks which led to the forced evacua-
tion of thousands of Madurese transmi-
grants, discussion concerning Dayak
culture and its direction were very cur-
rent topics.
Riduan suggested that Simon operate
tours through the museum, as the mu-
seum’s mission is to serve as a cultural
showcase for the province. This ulti-
mately is how Simon came on board.
Continued on page 14.
SUBUD VOICE - September 2004 13
 KALIMANTAN PROJECT
Continued from page 13.
Simon first went to Kalimantan in the
80s, to Tewa to implement a rice grow-
ing project designed by Luqman Leckie
and Sharifin Gardiner using an irrigation
system the Russians had begun and aban-
doned.
Bapak once asked him if he wanted to be
a pioneer in Kalimantan. At that time his
answer was no. But he and his wife
Salamah find themselves among the few
who are involved in increasing Subud’s
presence there.
The project has been endorsed by the
Governor of Central Kalimantan and
embraced by the community. The
planned ethno-botanical garden is an
example.
Illene Pevec, who has experience in de-
veloping such gardens, initially sug-
gested it and when it was passed on as a
possibility to the community Pak Bajik, a
shaman of the Dayak original beliefs
enthusiastically adopted the program.
Riduan and Simon use the term “Cultural
Collective” to describe what they are
doing.
The Botanical garden is obvious due to
the enormous biodiversity, which is be-
ing encroached on by the illegal logging
happening in the province.
The World Bank will provide funding for
the project by a loan to the Indonesian
government.
However, the Indonesians will not pay
for foreign consulting fees thus Simon
and Riduan are obligated to find the
funds before the funds are disbursed.
Currently more than half of the consult-
ing fees/salaries for Riduan and Simon
have been raised through the Ford Foun-
dation and MSF.
The project has evolved organically,
from their experiences and not from any
theory about why they should be there or
what they should be doing.
The project foremost, though, is exciting.
The multi cultural activities and festivals
which will be the force that promotes
harmony among the ethnic groups will
be up-beat for the community and fun.
(Individuals who wish to receive a copy
of the proposal and a summary of the
activities planned may contact
simond2@cbn.net.id or
riduant@cbn.net.id )
14 SUBUD VOICE - September 2004
IBU RAHAYU’S TALK within. We have been touched by the cur-
Continued from page 12. rent. And because of that, yes, sometimes
it is so gentle it makes us feel we want to
Question: My wife and I sometimes feel cry, or we feel happy, that is also the vi-
bration.
when we go to the group and we have a
gathering after the latihan that when we
get home we feel tired and we have to Question: Sometimes when I do my lati-
han, I find that I can't stop thinking and
sleep for a couple of hours. We were won-
dering if that's just a natural consequence my head just won’t shut up. Is there any-
thing that I can do to turn it off?
doing the latihan and being with Subud
people. Is this is a common experience?
It seems to happen when we stay on after Ibu: The fact is, if the latihan truly starts
from within, your thinking will stop by
latihan.
itself, so you don't need to try to stop it. In
fact if you try to think, you can’t. So,
Ibu: Yes, it happens because of sharing -
sharing feelings, sharing experiences, and when you are about to do latihan, don’t
start too quickly. Wait first and be quiet
sharing emotions. When there are many
people around, all kinds of things go on, until you feel the vibration I spoke of ear-
lier. Wait until something comes from in-
people normally talk about their problems,
and this can be a burden. So, the answer is: side. If your latihan starts from within,
your thinking cannot work anymore.
yes. In fact, if you can, do latihan by
yourself at home so that whatever affected
you will quickly go away. I think this is enough for tonight. Thank
you, and see you tomorrow.
Question: I’ve been doing latihan for a
number of years, and just recently became
a helper in the group here. I've noticed a
trend with my own latihan becoming more
THAI ISLAND
strained and less easy. I am just wonder-
ing if that's related to testing other peo-
HIDEAWAY
ple's problems. When I'm doing testing it
Phangan Island, dark green with virgin
is very intense, but I’ve noticed a decrease
tropical forest, floats in the Gulf of Thai-
in my own latihan. I'm wondering if that's
land, on the opposite side of the southern
a natural progression, or just the ups and
peninsula from Phuket. Here on the cliffs
downs in my latihan, or if it could be re-
overlooking wineglass-shaped Thansadet
lated to the fact that I'm doing lots of test-
Bay, which is fed by a spectacular water-
ing?
fall, Sofjan (Jo) Vogel has 9 double-bed
and twin-bed bungalows looking out to
Ibu: Yes, that’s just the normal up-and-
sea.
down of your latihan. Sometimes it feels
like that, and at other times you feel a
They cost from only $5 US a night, with a
strong spirit, or current. People don’t feel
discount for Subud members and longer
a strong latihan all the time. It goes up-
stays. There are fresh seafood, fruits and
and-down in intensity. That’s okay, that's
vegetables a-plenty, so come to indulge
normal. Well, when you do latihan you
yourselves, cheaply.
can ask God, so that you will also make
progress. Then you won’t feel that you just
A comfortable overnight sleeper train ride
do latihan to help other people, but you
from Bangkok then a two-hour ferry cross-
also do latihan to help yourself.
ing will get you there.
Question: Bapak often spoke of the vibra-
Please email your booking to Jo at
tions of the latihan, could Ibu speak about
gogetjo@hotmail.com or call him on
that?
6692185591, and he will meet you at the
harbour.
Ibu: Well, the vibration will vary, so
sometimes when we do latihan, our latihan
seems ordinary, because the vibration that
we feel has spread all over us. Well, when THE LATEST
we were opened we really felt the vibra-
tion because it was new, so we were star- SLANG
tled by it. But once we have grown accus-
tomed to it, and the vibration has spread In order to appear to be modern we sug-
all over us, we don't feel it any more. That gest you adopt the following expression,
said, sometimes we feel it like an electric “We’re on the same page.”
shock. If we feel the current, yes - then we
feel like we're the only person there, we You can use this in place of old-fashioned
feel that we are no longer standing on the sayings such as “I know what you mean”
ground, or we feel like crying. That means or “I understand what you are saying”. Just
we have been touched from within. If we repeat in a breezy, confident manner, “We
feel that, it’s a vibration and that vibration are on the same page” and people will
means that we have been touched from think you are very modern.
 AN IDEA OF SICA
SICA stands for the Subud International
Cultural Association, and I have always
loved its shortened name for two reasons.
The first is because you pronounce it
“seeker” - and that after all is what Subud
is all about. We are seekers, seeking
through our creative work to bring about a
better life - the will of God - in our lives
and in the world.
And secondly, because the purpose of
SICA is to usher in a second Renaissance.
The first Renaissance came about when
people, individuals, began to think for
themselves - and not just swallow what-
ever their religion told them. It ended
what history calls ‘The Middle Ages’ and
even ‘the Dark Ages’.
Today, some four or five hundred years
after that amazing flowering of human
culture, modern life is stuck in a material-
istic - a sub-human - worldview. And
when you look at ordinary life - with all its
stresses, the constant struggle to earn
enough to live, let alone all the environ-
mental problems - does this deserve the
REMEMBERING MICHAEL BRUCE
Dominic Rieu remembers Michael
Bruce…
Michael died on Sunday June 27th of an
aneurysm, perhaps precipitated by inten-
sive hard work. He fell in his office and
was found there in the evening.
His body was taken away and returned to
his family to have him with them for a
day, and then taken to the Slough Crema-
torium for the funeral on July 6th. His
wife, Ellen has asked me to write some-
thing about him for this publication.
I first met the Bruces in Windsor when
they were members of All Saints Church
and also in Subud at the time of the
Anugraha venture, and have kept in touch
while living in Windsor.
Michael was a man of astonishingly good
looks and when he entered a room one was
aware of a sense of authority and power.
I once amused Ellen when I told her he
appeared to me like a bison, one who
would have no difficulty in roughing up
another bison or other jungle animal who
crossed his path.
It sometimes looked as if he was prowling,
which enhanced the effect. Actually he
title of Human (capital H) life and culture?
Add all the crime, and the violence, and
the moral break-down of society - and,
well, it all adds up to the fact that the
world is in rather a mess. Another ‘Dark
Age’ perhaps. And no one seems to know
where to go, or how to change it.
So what’s needed now is a new Renais-
sance! The re-birth of an authentically
Human culture. And this is what SICA is
all about.
We - those of us who are creating and
working for a new and more humane cul-
ture - are seeking to bring about a new re-
visioning of the whole of human life. It’s
a big order, and we SICA people are small
individuals. But I suspect we are more
effective than we know.
I can quote you umpteen examples of what
SICA people are doing, but perhaps two in
our Zone is enough. One of the best - that
is, most creative, and most socially benefi-
cial - is what our sister Sandya is doing in
Sri Lanka. What she said to me was, “I
got so fed up with all the awful films we
was far from being bellicose; he invariably
treated other people, both men and
women, with friendly courtesy and inter-
est. Not surprisingly a great number came
to his funeral.
It was a pleasure to see Michael and Ellen
with their children. He obviously adored
them and they, as obviously, adored him.
One would expect a man like him to find a
wife like her, and for them to have chil-
dren like Catherine, Edgar and Leanne.
The funeral was deeply moving. As the
first chord of the hymn ‘The Lord is my
Shepherd’ burst out at least one of the
congregation was visibly sobbing and un-
able to sing much.
His brother gave a lengthy account of Mi-
chael’s life, and his son Edgar, looking
like the head boy or prefect of a good
school, gave a very brief, deeply felt but
controlled talk, just what we needed.
After that we stayed talking with the
Bruces and each other, then drove off for
refreshments in a smart hotel.
At this untimely death of so splendid a
man, as the coffin disappeared from us, I
thought of the farewell words of Horatio to
were importing, that I wanted to make
some simple films with a good moral end-
ing, showing good family life, and that
sort of thing.” So she did!
And there’s Rachmat Fisher in Indonesia
who is writing A Holistic History (of the
world, no less).
This, he says, is “An attempt to find a
voice for human history that is not nation-
alistic or ethnocentric”. There’s quite a lot
of this ‘work in process’ done already, and
you can read it at
www.geocities.com/rachmatfisher
The world needs more creative people like
Sandya, and Rachmat, who are helping to
create a more positive vision of real hu-
man life, through real human values. This,
to me is what SICA is all about - people
who are seeking to create a better, a more
fully Human life not just for themselves
but for others, too. In short, a second Ren-
aissance!
Salamah Pope, SICA Rep, Zones 1-2,
salamah@ozemail.com.au
Hamlet the Prince of Denmark at his
death: “Good night, sweet Prince, and
flights of angels sing thee to thy rest”.
We pray for Ellen, she has taken the shock
so well. May she come to feel less grief
because Michael is still with her.
Of one thing we can be certain – she and
her family will continue to be a boon to
those around them, and she will continue
helping others, and by helping others help
herself to happiness.
SUBUD VOICE - September 2004 15
 EVENTS
SEPTEMBER
2-7: Spirit in Endeavour—second Global
Enterprise Meeting in Vilnius, Lithuania.
Go to: www.globalenterprisemeeting.com
3-6: Subud Musicians Retreat at Seven
Circles in California. Please check out
www.sevencirclesretreat.org
11-14: Ibu Rahayu in Bangalore India
14-20: Ibu Rahayu in Sri Lanka. Open-
ing of Subud house in Colombo. Contact
Robert Goonetilleke at robert-
goonetilleke@yahoo.com
17-19: Russian National Congress. For
details contact Georges Ivanoff at:
ivanoff@dol.ru.
18-19: French National Congress at St.
Prix, north of Paris. Arrival on the 17th.
24-26: Enterprise for Creatives: An SES
Britain Residential at the Perth Subud
House in Scotland. Contact Latifah
Nankivell at:
Latifah.silks@bigfoot.co.uk
or Tel: +44-1874658317
24-26: 33rd Portuguese National Con-
gress in Lisbon. Contact Muchtar Martins
at: op125000b@mail.telepac.pt
OCTOBER
8-10: Kejiwaan Gathering in Italy, open
to all members. Details to follow.
Contact Pina Velluzzi at:
p.velluzzi@libero.it
NOVEMBER
4-14:Subud Ramadhan Retreat at Seven
Circles in California. Please check out
www.sevencirclesretreat.org
See also the Events section on the
Subud World News website
www.subudworldnews.com
WRITERS
Subud Writers International
(SWI) workshops at the zonal conference,
Vancouver, were held over 4 days,
Wednesday to Saturday, in 1&1/2 hour
sessions with 11 or 12 participants at each
session, and 6 participants on the last day.
It was great to meet everyone there from
North and South America. Overheard &
direct feedback ranged from “Not Excel-
lent” to “Inspiring”.
Rasunah Marsden, SWI Chair
16 SUBUD VOICE - September 2004
NEW CHAIR IN
CANADA
Congratulations to Matthew Baerveldt
and David Hitchcock in their new posi-
tions as Canadian Chair and Vice-
chair.
At the Canada National Congress, Mat-
thew retired as Canada's Committee
Councillor only to become the new
Chair! Later Matthew chose David as
his Vice-Chair. Many thankyou’s to
Jean Pierre for his last two years of
service.
David's testing at the Congress showed
him to also be a strong candidate for
the National Chair and for those who
know these long time, active members,
you will know how well they comple-
ment each other. Plus, Matthew is
from Toronto while David is from Vic-
toria, so both sides of the country will
be represented on the National Com-
mittee.
RAMADAN IN
THE PYRENEES
We have just completed the renovation of
our retreat project in Pyrenees - La Source.
Come here for Ramadan. It is natural re-
treat ready for people who wish to find a
communion with nature and contact with
life that is always so difficult when outer
influences are overwhelming in their eve-
ryday life. You can find more information
on www.lasourcepyrenees.com or write to
me HalimKorzybski@wanadoo.fr tel.33
562 40 9857
CORRECTION
In the article by Fernando Vivas in July
Subud Voice we published the wrong
email address for him.
The correct address is:
fernandovivasramirez@hotmail.com
B A P A K ’ S T A L K S
12
VOLUME
AVAILABLE NOW
PRICE (Incl p&p) UK £13 ·
Europe £14 · Other £16 ·
ORDER NOW
Pay by UK Bank cheque or Credit Card:
Subud Publications International
Loudwater Farm,
Loudwater Lane,
Rickmansworth,
Herts, WD3 4HG, UK
Tel: 44 (0) 1727 762210
Fax: 44 (0) 1727 858080
e-mail: spi@subudbooks.co.uk
MUSIC BY SUBUD ARTISTS
Robert Millard ‘Piano Recital’ £11.00
Hamilton Camp ‘Mardi’s Bard’ £12.50
Mira’nda ‘So Bravely Human’ £12.50
Marius Kahan ‘Tomorrow’s Memories’ £10.00
Isles Theatre Co ‘The Isles’ £10.00
Hamish Barker ‘Natural Culture’ £10.00
Malarky ‘The Band that Plays at Night’ £10.00
Lucas Hille ‘Lost and Found’ £10.00
Musica - ‘The SICA CD’ £10.00
The DJC Collection - 16 Track Sampler £5.00
NEW CDs:
Yamba Yamba Orchestra - ‘Rainstorm’ £11.00
Robert Millard ‘Piano Recital 2 (Chopin)’ £11.00
Adrienne Thomas ‘Speaking In Tongues’ £11.00
Harlan Cockburn ‘Ship Without Rudder’ £11.00
Prices include postage anywhere.
(Credit Card option on website)
DJC Records, 104 Constitution Hill,
Norwich, NR34 BB UK. clague@paston.co.uk
www.djcrecords.co.uk
WORLD LATIHANS
September 4: 22:00 (CET) - 20:00 (GMT)
October 3: 5:00 (CET) - 3:00 (GMT)
November 7: 11;00 (CET) - 10:00 (GMT)
To find the corresponding time
in your part of the world go to:
www.timeanddate.com/worldclock
SUBUD VOICE
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DEADLINE FOR
NEXT ISSUE:
15 September 2004
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